AVE MARIA, Fla. — While Saturday's home opener for Ave Maria did not go the full 60 minutes of a regular football game, the Gyrenes got third first win of the season, beating the Fort Lauderdale Eagles 31-7. Towards the end of the third quarter, the game was called due to lightning in the area after just 42 minutes of play.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter, playing to a scoreless tie in the first frame. Back-to-back turnovers ended the first two drives for the Ave Maria offense, but the defense stepped up getting two stops of their own. Fort Lauderdale was forced to punt after their opening drive. The second possession ended with a Nate Hyman interception that set Ave Maria up Fort Lauderdale territory.
The Gyrenes drove down the field and punched the ball in with an eight-yard designed QB run from Logan Howard at the start of the second quarter. It was the first touchdown of the season for the Gyrenes.
After another punt, the Eagles scored their only points of the game off a 65-yard pick-six to tie the game.
The tie didn't last for long though as Ave Maria found the endzone for the second drive in a row. This time it was a big run from Bryan Stiemke for 31 yards for the score. The senior running back had a few big chunk runs in the first quarter, but 31 yards was his longest rush of the game and put Ave Maria back on top.
Fort Lauderdale tried to get a drive going in the waning minutes of the first half, but another interception ended the drive. This time it was DJ Van Horn who got the interception in just his second game on the defensive side of the ball for the Gyrenes. Van Horn returned the ball 41 yards before being tackled which set the Gyrenes up again on the UFTL side of the field with less than a minute to play.
Ave Maria used their limited time wisely and got into field goal range for freshman kicker James Carlini, who knocked a 41 yard field goal through the uprights as time expired. The kick gave Ave Maria a 17-7 lead at the half.
Coming out of halftime, the defense made another big play with another interception. On the opening drive for the Eagles, freshman defensive back Rashad Orr deflected a pass and then tipped the ball back to himself to keep the play alive. Orr had nobody in front of him, so he took the pick to the house for six points.
 A Fort Lauderdale three-and-out deep in their own territory forced another punt that did not make it over the 40-yard line. Roman Newkirk returned the punt to the 25 for the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria quickly moved the ball down the field and scored their last touchdown off a two-yard run from freshman Amarion Hover.
In total, freshmen contributed 17 of the 31 points for Ave Maria. "The emphasis on this week was growth," said head coach Joe Patterson after the game. "And I though that several freshman stepped up and, if not for the weather, we would have seen more of that."
The Gyrene defense got one more big play in the final minutes of the third quarter with Luis Nunez picking off the fourth interception of the game for the Gyrenes. Four interceptions is the most for the Gyrene defense since October 14, 2023, when they picked off the Webber Warriors four times as well. Both instances were by four different defenders.
"I thought the defense played tremendously," said coach Patterson. "Not only did they contain the opponent, but they also made several big plays."
Ave Maria got one play in after the Nunez interception, but then the weather took control of the game. Rain had begun to fall earlier in the third quarter and then was quickly followed by lightning in the area. The two teams cleared the field for the lightning and delay and agreed to end the game early in favor of the Gyrenes. Saturday was not the first game to have lightning delay for the Gyrenes, but it was the first game in program history to end early because of one.
Individually, Bryan Stiemke was the big earner for the Gyrenes, racking up 130 yards on 13 carries for an average of 10 yards a rush. For Stiemke, it was the eighth game of his Ave Maria career with over 100 rushing yards.
As a team, the Gyrenes recorded 220 yards of total offense while holding Fort Lauderdale to just 88.
With the win, Ave Maria evens their record to 1-1.
The Gyrenes are on the road for their next game, travelling up to Dayton, Ohio, for the last non-conference game of the season. Ave Maria will take on their second NCAA Division I opponent in the Dayton Flyers.
"Another great opportunity for us. There was some intentionality put into our non-conference schedule and we are really excited about the trip," said Patterson.
Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, September 21.
